Report from Dublin, Ireland
May, 1989
President Bush has broken his long foreign policy silence and declared that his goal is to welcome the Soviet Union back into his, that is, the, world order. Following are excerpts from his speech.Soviet Expansionism is finished. We have only one planet—why have two expansionisms?
“I applaud Perestroika,” said Mr. Bush. “But why not go further? Why not let a foreign power tell you how best to restructure? And who better than someone with experience in running other peoples’ affairs? And while we’re at it, why not ignore worse conditions in Chile, Mexico, Zaire and South Korea? Why not, indeed, pretend to be ending the Cold War while in fact giving it a fresh start?
“Mr. Gorbachev, don’t stop now. Do it the American way. Because when you get right down to it, is there really any other way? Open your airwaves to us, to our dollars. The Chileans did it, and they’re still around, some of them. They’ve gotten over that socialism thing, and you can too.
“Let openness mean the free exchange of books and ideas between East and West. Our fine educational system and material wealth, built up not by theft but by hard, honest plunder, ensure that no American lives in need of the outmoded ideas of Marx, while your country, by contrast, could benefit from the Western philosophies that have done so much for the American Indian, the American farmer, the Vietnam veteran—why, for Vietnam itself.
“Mr. Gorbachev, come back into the World Order. Let your people exercise the freedom to pay for medical care. And if they can’t afford it, let your people go—to a nation where inability to pay for medical care is a long-cherished tradition.
“The Soviet Union should continue democratization, so that it can eventually become like modern-day Brazil, where two Brazils, rich and poor, live side by side in pluralism, free to disagree, free to keep their respective life styles without fear of change.
“I see a Western Hemisphere that consists of democratic, prosperous nations no longer threatened by a Cuba or Nicaragua armed by Moscow; where each nation, armed by Washington, can freely threaten its own populace. I see a Soviet Union that pulls away from ties to terrorist nations, like Libya, one that leaves our terrorist nations in peace.
“I see a Soviet Union that returns the northern territories of Japan, that divests itself of the Ukraine, that changes its social system to ours. I see a Soviet Union that respects China’s integrity, just as we respect the Soviet Union’s. A Soviet Union that supports self-determination in Eastern Europe, just as we support it in Nicaragua. More or less.
“Mr. Gorbachev has extended his hand and called for world cooperation. We welcome this, even though it was his idea, and if he is willing to give up subversion then we will go beyond containment and include the Soviet Union in the community of American-approved nations. Soviet Expansionism is finished. After all, we have only one planet—why have two expansionisms?
“In closing, I suggest that those who wish to examine these proposals meet soon to work out the details and approve the proposals, because they are, in the final analysis, our proposals.”
Mr. Bush’s speech was immediately hailed by knowledgeable sources as a clever and entirely legal spin on recent East-West developments. In a post-address telephone call, Bush and Gorbachev had a frank, indirect exchange of views. Mr. Gorbachev told the President, “I see a United States responding to the end of stagnation in Poland and Hungary by permitting the end of death squads in Guatemala, El Salvador, South Africa and the Philippines.” Mr. Bush responded, “I see a Soviet Union that ceases to aid guerrillas in third world countries made poor through their own mismanagement of our investments.” Gorbachev countered, “I see a Bush burning with desire for a new Soviet Union, but still echoing the old Cold War rhetoric.” Bush replied, “I see a Gorbachev with an attitude.”